Mental Health

STRESS! For most of us it’s unavoidable. At work, at home…it can really take a toll on your health if not kept in check. But is there a very simple way to keep a lot of that stress at bay? So simple it is only comprised of two letters…NO! Learning to say “NO” and not feel guilty is something that may take a little work to achieve (notice I said that it was “so simple”…I did not say “so easy!”).

Do you ever get the feeling that everyone you know wants something from you…and sometimes it feels like it’s all at once? Of course you know the feeling…and the feelings it can lead to…stress! You want to reduce your stress level, but you don’t want to upset anyone either. This is what makes handling requests crucial for your mental well-being. Handling requests is a lot like managing tasks–you must identify the things you don’t need to do and learn how to say “NO!” Yes, it can feel extremely uncomfortable at first. It might even cause some friction between you and certain individuals, but it sets clear boundaries and people will soon learn to respect you and your time. So the sooner you get comfortable saying “NO” the sooner you will find an improvement in your time management and your interpersonal relationships, which is guaranteed to lead to a reduction in stress!read more

When thinking of ways to reduce stress in life, usually techniques like meditation, yoga, and journaling come to mind. These are great techniques, to be sure. But getting a new best friend can also have many stress relieving and health benefits. While human friends provide great social support and come with some fabulous benefits, let’s look at the benefits of furry friends–dogs and cats. Research shows that, unless you’re someone who really dislikes animals or is absolutely too busy to care for one properly, pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people! The following are some health benefits of pets:read more